beautiful, hollow promises
by FaroresFlame
Summary: Fairytales were cautionary tales, told to children to instill morals. They were dressed prettily, with noble princes and beautiful maidens, terrifying beasts, romance, and lofty ideals. In the end, though, they were just stories.


**Any similiarites to other RGU fic was unintentional. Please keep in mind that the way Anthy thinks about herself does not reflect what I think about her. I do not own Revolutionary Girl Utena or any of these characters.**

 **Warnings: non-graphic references to the abuse towards Anthy and Utena in the series, brief mention of the suicide attempt scene**

* * *

This was never a fairytale. There were no prince or princesses, no evil witches, no power of miracles. Those were just projections, empty ideals to delude and motivate the players, to hide the ugly and terrifying truth of what a person would do in the pursuit of power.

No, these weren't fairytales. It could never be that simple.

* * *

 _Once upon a time there was a princess in danger, for she had no will of her own. A magic curse was placed upon her, requiring her to simply obey the whims of her fiancé, a selfish and violent man. A noble prince saw this princess's plight, and decided to step in by challenging the princess's fiancé to a duel._

 _The fiancé laughed, seeing how ill equipped the prince was. However, though the prince possessed only a wooden sword, what he lacked in power he more than made up for with wits and bravery. He easily outsmarted the evil fiancé, defeating him and breaking the curse placed on the princess. Now free from her obligation, the princess became engaged to the prince instead, and they lived happily ever after._

* * *

Tenjou Utena was a perfectly normal girl, thank you very much.

Sure, she dressed like a guy, and she helped others out, and she dreamed that one day she would become just like a prince, but she was still a normal girl who only wanted to be with a normal boy. So when Himemiya started with all that "engaged" nonsense, she felt immensely uncomfortable. Normal girls didn't get engaged with other girls. Normal girls didn't get involved with dueling games for some sort of mystical powers. She quickly resolved to get out of the bizarre situation she had found herself in so she could get back to her normal life.

She still told herself that she was going to make herself lose as she dueled with Saionji, even as her hand protectively cupped the rose on her chest.

* * *

 _There once was a prince that was too noble for his own good. He went around the land, saving princesses and maidens and children and anyone else who was helpless. However, his kindness and trusting nature would soon be his downfall._

 _A witch saw this prince, and the goodness overflowing in his heart, and decided to take advantage of it. She disguised herself as a vulnerable princess, luring him to her, then slowly bewitched him until he was in love with the projected image of her. Then, using the power she now had over him, she secretly made him do her evil bidding, with the prince thinking he was still doing good all the while. The witch continued, until the prince realized what destruction he had caused under her influence, and he refused to let her taint his pure soul any further. Furious at her minion's insolence, the witch locked him up for eternity, a shell of what he once was._

* * *

Akio wasn't Dios any longer, and he hadn't been for a very long time. Anthy had tried to protect Dios however she could, sacrificing herself in the process, but in the end it was moot. Her beloved brother changed into a different person in search of his long absent powers, his once gentle nature twisting into something sinister. Anthy blamed herself. So she stayed with him, no matter what horrible things he did to her. He was still her brother.

She felt her own innocence twisting into something corrupted as well, the longer that the games continued. Perhaps there was nothing truly pure and innocent in the world.

* * *

 _A young princess went into town one day, disguised as a normal citizen, to see what life was like outside of the castle. What she found was a boy, tall and imposing, speaking harshly to a much smaller girl. They were in the relative privacy between two shops, but still in plain view of anyone milling around. Nobody spared a glance._

 _Suddenly, the boy backhanded the girl, causing her to stumble back and clutch her cheek. The princess felt white-hot anger course through her, and intervened, fighting off the boy._

 _As he fled, the girl thanked the princess profusely, and they were fast friends after that. The princess visited the town and the girl as often as she could, and the girl finally had a friend._

 _However, the princess began to be courted by a chivalrous and handsome prince, and she found herself visiting the girl less and less. By the time she married the prince, the girl was gone, and she never saw her again._

* * *

Anthy and Utena weren't meant to fall in love. It was an unspoken rule, put in place by the society they lived in, as well as the role Anthy played.

Anthy wasn't in love. Not yet, at least, but she was approaching something frighteningly close to it. It terrified her. She saw Utena's soft expression around her, and wondered if Utena was in the same position. That terrified her even more somehow.

Akio took up much of Utena's time. The only moments they had that were truly theirs was at night, when they laid across from each other, Anthy's hair laying frighteningly wild around her and the mask slowly slipping. However, she knew that soon those moments would be gone, Utena with them.

* * *

 _Two siblings, a prince and a princess, lived together happily. The prince, being older, took care of his sister and loved her dearly. However, one day another princess came to the kingdom to stay. She caught the attention of the prince immediately._

 _The sister did not like this, for she wanted her brother's love to be only for herself. So she pretended to befriend the other princess, cooking and cleaning for her, always smiling, and soon they were having tea together every day._

 _After her brother kissed the other princess, the sister poisoned her tea. It was just her and her brother again._

* * *

Anthy was starting to feel immense guilt for manipulating Utena like this, like she'd never felt for any other duelist. Utena didn't deserve any of this. She was good and kind, pure in a way that Anthy felt she was tainting from just being around her.

Anthy's skin crawled as she saw Akio with Utena, the way he acted so noble around her, slowly lowering her defenses so that he could get under her skin. It make Anthy feel sick.

She made a last ditch effort, faking suicide, to free Utena. Utena didn't let her. They have an honest conversation, both truly bearing their souls to the other for the first time. Anthy had never been so vulnerable in front of another person, not even Akio. She knew she should have stopped, should have push Utena away before she found she couldn't go through with the plan anymore. She didn't.

* * *

 _There was an evil wolf that lurked in the woods. It disguised itself to put anyone who traveled through at ease before it struck. It was a helpless puppy, a handsome young man, a beloved family member. Then, when it's victim was the most vulnerable, it went for the jugular and relished it's victory as the victim's life slowly drained away under it's jaw._

* * *

The sword passed through Utena's body cleanly, easily. There wasn't even any blood. Anthy's hands still shook as she left Utena on the floor. There was no blood, but Anthy swore there was crimson dripping from her fingers.

Utena had a hold on the bottom of Anthy's dress as she tried to walk away. Her grip wasn't very strong. Anthy could have easily pull away. She didn't, transporting away instead, leaving Utena with the shell of her costume crumpling to the floor.

As the swords pierced her, Anthy wondered what would have happened if she really was a damsel in distress. Maybe afterwards her and Utena could have been happy.

* * *

 _The knight had defeated the dragon and rescued the princess from her tower. The princess, having fell in love with the handsome knight, accepted his marriage proposal, and they were married that spring, to the joy of everyone in the kingdom._

* * *

When Anthy found Utena, it really felt like they'd finally found their happy ending. She was overjoyed, bursting with love, and they had their whole lives ahead of them. Still, the bliss didn't last, and their demons snuck their way into their new lives.

It was messy and imperfect. There were some days when Anthy couldn't stand to leave her bed, couldn't fathom the thought of going outside and being surrounded by dozens of people. The mere scent of roses would give Utena horrific flashbacks. They were out, they were free, but the guilt and shame and memories and trauma had clung on to them like a parasite.

Their lives were never meant to be a fairytale, though, Anthy supposed, no matter what lies Akio tried to sell.

Still, somehow, they survived and ten years went by. Really, ten years was insignificant compared to how long Anthy had suffered at Ohtori, but this time left physical marks on her unlike before. Anthy had aged. So had Utena. They had aged, together, and the memories they shared out of Ohtori drastically outweighed those shared in. They get to know each other, not as classmates or the Duelist and the Rose Bride, or as Miss Utena and Himemiya, but as equals, and as two children who had a lot of terrible things happen to them. As two young girls who survived. Eventually, as two adults who loved each other.

Anthy wore her hair down, most days. Utena liked to play with it, to brush the long waves gently. Utena herself had cut her hair short. Both changes were freeing, in their own ways.

They finally had that tea date, once the ten year mark hit. Then again at twenty years, and again at thirty. Though there were still plenty of bad days, sometimes more often than not, Anthy found she had never been happier than the quiet moments sitting across from her favorite person, sipping tea.


End file.
